


A quiet moment

by tetsubinatu



Category: Horatio Hornblower (tv)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 05:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetsubinatu/pseuds/tetsubinatu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet moment on deck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A quiet moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bbunny (brodeurbunny30)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brodeurbunny30/gifts).



> Just a little Yuletide Madness inspired by your prompt. Enjoy!

The breeze was light and the skies blue with only a few high wisps of cloud scudding across in a westerly direction. Archie held the shirt he was mending close to his face, using a pin to secure the seam at a better angle. The seam was frayed where it had been strained until it gave way and he would have to sew the new seam inside the old. Damn Simpson for being so rough, anyway.

Archie glanced sideways to where Horatio sat crosslegged and awkward on the deck beside him, puzzling over the hems of his trousers. It seemed impossible, but he had grown again and the Captain would not be pleased if he saw the stretch of ankle that the trousers now revealed. As Archie watched, deferring his own task and the unpleasant memories it evoked, Horatio picked at the old hem to reveal a small amount of material that could be let down.

Around them the ship creaked and groaned in a familiar and comforting manner. The flag at the mast-head fluttered a little, scarcely able to heave itself into the air with the lightness of the breeze, but mostly it seemed to manage. Several of the men had gathered at the other end of the deck to do their own mending - a fair day and no pressing duties usually brought them out into the sunshine. The raucous laughter at some no-doubt filthy joke brought Horatio's head up to glance smiling at the scene.

"Days like this remind me of the summer term at school," he said reminiscently. "I would sit under the trees at the edge of the green and read until the light went or the cricketers came searching for an eleventh man."

"Did you play?" Archie asked. Cricket had never been one of his passions, but there were plenty who loved it.

"When forced," Horatio admitted. "I am competent with a bat."

Archie smiled to himself. That sounded like Horatio - competent when required to be, but preferring solitary pursuits.

"And other sports?"

Horatio shook his head. "I disliked group sports, but we were forced to participate at school of course."

Of course. The two heads, fair and dark, bent over their tasks.

"Days like today," Horatio said into his trousers, "make it all worthwhile."

Archie breathed in the warm sea air and the comfort of his friend's presence. "They do," he agreed.


End file.
